‘Terrorists in Arab attire’: Kerala KG performance sparks row

The performance was designed to depict a specific religious community as thieves and terrorists, which in turn incited religious animosity, SDPI said.

Ernakulam: A performance by St Mary’s kindergarten students in Kerala’s Ernakulam district has triggered tension, with police complaints alleging that the song’s lyrics were Islamophobic. The lyrics reportedly portray people dressed in Arab attire as terrorists planting bombs on railway tracks.

The performance, held at Christian Mahilalayam School in Aluva on Tuesday, November 10, included lyrics describing people dressed in Arab clothes as terrorists and thieves who entered train carriages, creating fear and planting bombs, according to local media.

The lyrics were heard as, “Thieves and terrorists, dressed in Arab costumes, enter the coaches, oh no, we are afraid. Terrorists are running on the tracks, planting bombs.”

The same song allegedly won first place at the festival last year.

However, protests erupted on Tuesday following the performance, prompting school manager TJ Eldhose to apologise. He said he was unaware that the song’s lyrics included such hateful messages. Eldhose said the song has been performed in various schools since 2010, adding that he does not know who wrote the lyrics or its origins.

Complaints call for police probe, action against school

The Fraternity Movement district committee filed a complaint at the Perumbavoor Police Station on Tuesday and called for an investigation, seeking action against those responsible.

The group’s district general secretary, Ashiq Panayikkulam, said it was concerning that racial hatred was being promoted through children’s performances. The organisation said children’s cultural programmes were being made into stages for spreading hate through anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Educational institutions should foster fraternity, tolerance, mutual respect and humanism rather than prejudice and division, the organisation said.

The group warned against further spreading communal hatred through educational and cultural spaces, calling for a thorough investigation and action.

The Perumbavoor constituency committee of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) lodged a formal police complaint against both the school authorities and the organisers of the arts festival. Shameer MH, the constituency president of the SDPI, delivered the complaint directly to the Perumbavoor police inspector.

According to the SDPI’s statement, the performance was designed to depict a specific religious community as thieves and terrorists, which in turn incited religious animosity. The party criticised the involvement of young children in a performance carrying such themes, calling it an effort to include “communal agendas” in children’s cultural events.

The SDPI urged authorities to take criminal action against teachers, school management, and the song creators, invoking relevant provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.